A plastic bag of water hangs from the top of a door at a Mexican bakery.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

On a recent trip to a Mexican bakery, I noticed a bag of water with a few pennies in it hanging from the door. At first I thought someone was trying to play a practical joke and the water would spill, but when we opened the door, it was obvious that it was tied very securely. My next suspicion was that the bag of water was actually a Latin American or Mexican folk belief or superstition having to do with prosperity or luck.

Leaving the store with a bag full of conchas, marranitos, and other panes in hand, I asked Carlos if he knew anything about it. Carlos wasn’t sure but also suspected it was a folk belief.

Once home, I researched to find the answer. This is actually not cultural superstition, but science! It turns out the plastic bag of water hung on a door is a fly repellent. There is disagreement over how this actually works, but many swear that it does work. I didn’t see any flies at the Mexican bakery, so it’s worth giving a try. Maybe now our chanclas don’t have to double as fly swatters.

Hola :) Yo en algún lugar si habia escuchado/visto lo de la bolsa de agua para espantar las moscas,pero no estoy segura si lo vi en Nicaragua o Republica Dominicana. I had never seen it inside a store though…will have to try it for sure :D
This week PinkGuayoy is also participating in Spanish Friday, here is the link:http://wp.me/p1yLuY-6u

Siempre tan util con los consejos, hermana! jajaja… I was thinking it was for good fortune and was already planning to put my little bolsita ful of pennies at the front door :-) Oh well, but as a fly repellent… I guess, maybe I’ll try it out. sigh.

We’ve done it…yes, it works. Another trick is to put out a shallow dish (we used a frisbee) filled with water and lemon liquid dish soap. We had flies around our trashcan once and did this….the next morning there were like twelve floating in the water!!

Tracy, you are a lifesaver! I was just about to Google “natural fly repellent” or something like that because the flies have arrived by the hundreds and they don’t look like they’ll be leaving soon. I can’t believe I had forgotten all about the water in a plastic bag. You see them at all of the different food puestos here in town. I’m putting some up as soon as I post this comment. I’ll let you know if it works. :)

I love when I coincidentally run into things online that I actually had on my “to do” list to figure out. Let me know if this works well for you!

I’ve had a bag of water with 2 pennies in it hanging from our back door for 2 days now and it’s REALLY WEIRD – we haven’t had any flies come in the house! We usually get one every time we open that door to let the dog out.

Yes, here in El Salvador you see little bags of water hanging all over the place! Mostly at outdoor food stands. The theory that people have explained to me here is that the water and the plastic (and the pennies, in cases when they´re used) cause reflections of light, which cause the flies not to come near. The effect doesn´t have a super wide radius, but at least it keeps the flies away from the food under the bags. On mobile food carts or canopies at a fair, there will be several bags hanging from the beams. Just be careful not to bump your head! =)

From now on, when buying my Mango Twist, Minuta etc etc I’ll be looking for the plastic bag with water. Never seen it before but your explanation makes total sense. Flies have like 2 million eyes (OK, maybe not that many) so can you believe how crazy they might feel with that weird reflection!

This was such a funny post Tracy, but now I am considering taking a trip to our local panaderia, I love their conchas! It seems I’m always learning more about my husband’s superstitious behavior, and now… my own, I don’t even realize I’m doing it sometimes.

No way, Tracy! I’m going to have to try it since we’re constantly chasing flies after our son leaves the slider open. I would’ve also thought it had something to do with water bringing prosperity, or something along those lines. Estoy selosa de tun panecitos! oink-oink

Ha! I really thought you were going to say para las malas vibras. My parents have a garlic bunch for the vibes, so I’m sure they will love to hear about this water bag! Makes me want to try it in my apartment hmm wonder where I would put it? Thanks for sharing!!

I’ve seen the plastic bags here in Chile too, but usually empty (partially filled with air) and definitely without the coins. I always thought it had something to do with the movement because the empty bag flutters with the slightest breeze— but your version is weighted, so what the heck is going on here? People DO swear it works… and I’ve never seen any evidence to prove them wrong!

Loved this post amiga! Yes, we love our plastic bags with water here in Mexico! LOL! The theory says that water makes the reflection of the flies seem like they are huge terrible creatures so they stay away from “it”… when it´s really just themselves! Thank goodness they are not smart! jajajaja!!!

I really don’t think the bags with water do a darn thing, pennies or not, judging by my experience in my husband’s hometown, hordes of flies getting on stuff despite little baggies hanging right there. But at my house I still hang up the little baggies with water and pennies all over the place outside whenever we have a party, because I don’t want to hear it. “Hubieras colgado unas bolsas con agua…”

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